build me a computer...

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:02 pm

..for a friend. she's going to be using this machine primarily for Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as the usual email/web/music/word processing applications. i was going to use this thread and link as a guide to making it - i thought it would be cool to make a cheap computer that could play 3D games well, even though it would likely never be used for that. well, i couldn't find a cheap 4600 or Buffalo Tech memory... so things started mutating. here's what i've got so far

Shuttle "AN35N-Ultra" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL link - $59.00

Crucial CT6464Z335 512MB DDR PC2700 • CL=2.5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC link - $91.00

maybe an Athlon 2500+ processor? i dunno. the HD, CD-RW and case will be whatever i can find cheap after rebate at a local store. i might get a cheap nVidia GF4MX card to round out the package, though the ATI 9200SE would be a better choice for display quality, i think.

this ended up being more pricey than i thought. suggestions for reducing price without severely reducing quality? overclockable is a plus.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 9:18 pm

Hamsterball_Z · Post by **Hamsterball_Z** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 2:28 am

Good choice for motherboard, that's what I have. Pair it with a mobile Athlon XP (NewEgg link) for $76 and you can overclock like crazy. I've got mine to 3500+ (2.4Ghz) speeds. For stability sake I don't think I'd recommend clocking it that high for your friend though. If you have overclocking in mind don't skimp on the cooler or power supply (400W+). For memory don't go lower than PC3200 (400Mhz). I have Corsair Valueselect CAS 2.5 which you can get for $72 (nother NewEgg link). Again, overclocks great.

Sorry, not really any suggestions to lower the price, you've already spec'ed low cost items already. I would also agree to go with a cheap ATI over NVidia for a much better 2d image quality.